Vulcanizer.



A; E. LAWRENCE.

VULCANIZER.

ION FILED APR v I914- 1,19-8,932. Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

2 SHEETS SHEET I.

A. E. LAWRENCE.

VULCANIZER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.17. I914.

Patented Sept. I9, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z WQQQ Q J y w J% @FQE ARTHUR E. LAWRENCE, OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 NORA. HANKE, OF HAYS COUNTY, TEXAS.

VULCANIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Airmen E. Law- RENGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at San Marcos, in the county of Hays and State ofTexas, have invented new and useful Improvements in V'ulcanizers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a vulcanizer especially designed for vulcanizingthe casings or shoes of pneumatic tires, whereby repairs may be made ina ready, convenient and economical manner.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a vulcanizer which issimple, reliable and efiicient in construction, capable of being easilyapplied to the casing which is to be repaired, and which provides forthe uniform heating of the casing over the entire area to be vulcanized.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vulcanizer which iscurved in cross section to correspond to the tire casing, and ischambered to hold a combustible fluid which'is ignited to produce therequired heat, and has its chambered surface so con structed as tomaintain the fluid at the different points at the required levelrelative to different portions of the surfaces under treatment toprevent either over or under heating.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a vulcanizer bywhich patches for closing punctures or blow outs may be readily andconveniently applied, and surface cuts, bruises and other imperfectionscured, to cover and protect the fabric of the casing.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination andarrangement of parts herein fully described and claimed, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a view showing theapplication of the invention to a wheel for use in vulcanizing a portionof the outer casing. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the vulcanizer, partsbeing broken away to show interior construction. Fig. 3 is a top planview of the same. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through thevulcanizer.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the vulcanizer as a whole, whichis generally of oblong rectangular form, andiincludes a bottom 2 andside and end walls 3 and 1 rising therefrom. The vulcanizer may be ofany suitable length and width, and its bottom wall 2, which constitutesthe vulcanizing surface, is longitudinally and transversely curved toinclose or straddle the tire. It will of course be understood that theradius of the bottom wall 2 will also conform to that of the particularportion or section of the tire which is to be covered, and that thevulcanizer may be made of difierent sizes to suit different sizes oftires.

The bottom wall 2 is provided with extensions 5 depending below thelower edges of the side walls 3, to insure the secure seating of thedevice in place, while the side walls 3, which are preferably straightand parallel, and provided wit-h lower curved edges of the same radiusas the bottom wall 2, are spaced a distance greater than the maximumwidth or diameter of the bottom wall and are provided at their loweredges with bottom portions or inward extensions 6 connecting the samewith the depending sides of the bottom wall, so that the heat from theheating agent may be transmitted to the wall 2 throughout its intendedvulcanizing area. For the purpose of securing the device upon a wheelduring the vulcanizing process, bracket arms 7 are provided and dependfrom the extensions 5 in transversely alined pairs, said arms havinghooked lower ends to receive cross bolts 8 which are provided withretaining nuts 9 and are centrally apertured for the reception ofbinding and centering screws 10, each having a cushioned head 11 to bearagainst the rim of the wheel and a retaining nut 12 to secure it inposition. Fig. 1 shows the application of the invention, from which itwill be seen that the device is arranged to straddle the tire casing 13,and that the cross bolts 8 extend beneath the rim 14 of the wheel andthe bolts 10'bear against the rim to supportthe device in position, themode of application and removal being obvious from the foregoingdescription.

The walls 3 and 4 of the vulcanizer bound the wall 2 and form a heatingbox or cham-' ber to receive a combustible fluid, such as gasolene,which is intended to be ignited for the purpose of heating the bottomwall 2 for the vulcanizing action. For the purpose of increasing theefficiency of the heating agent, I provide the interior of the box orchamber with longitudinally and transversely extending partitions orwebs 15 and 16, which are comparatively thin, and which subdivide thebox or chamber into a plurality of longitudinal and transverse rows ofpockets or cells 17, each designed to hold a proportion of thecombustible fluid to a certain depth 5 or elevation. It will beunderstood that the flames produced by the ignition of the combustiblefluid heat the fluid and the wall 2, and these flames are designed toimpinge against metallic pins or other equivalent heat conductingelements extending upwardly from the bottom wall 2 whereby the heat isbetter transmitted thereto, a group or desired number of such heatconducting elements being disposed within each pocket or cell.

The purpose of subdividing the box or chamber into compartments istwo-fold, first to make the effective height or level of the combustiblefluid substantially the same at all points, in order to effect a uniformheating of the vulcanizing plate 2, which could not otherwise beobtained, and second to enable a local portion of the tire to be treatedwithout unduly heating adjacent portions which are not under treatment.in addition to these functions the thin division plates 15 further formconducting surfaces which act in conjunction with the conducting members18 to transmit the heat to the plate and thereby render the heating ofthe plate uniform at all points in the use of all of the pockets orcells in the vulcanizing action.

In the process of vulcanizing a portion of the tire, a suitable quantityof the combustible fluid is placed in all or a desired number of thecells or pockets, and the surface of said fluid ignited. The fluiditself is thus heated to the vaporizing point, and thereby transmitsheat to the plate 2, while the flames also impinge against and heat thesurfaces 15, 16 and 18, whereby a uniform heating of the vulcanizingplate is obtained. The device is especially intended and will be foundof maximum advantage in vulcanizing the tread surfaces of tire shoes orcasings, for the purpose of sealing punctures or blow outs, or to enablecuts or abraded surfaces to be closed and covered to protect the fabricof the tire from the action of moisture, under which it is liable to rotand weaken the casing. By means of the device, the surface of the tiremay also be kept smooth in a ready, convenient and inexpensive manner.

I claim l. A tire vulcanizer of the character described comprising areceptacle including a bottom wall or plate which is longitudinally andtransversely of concavoconvex form and of a width to embrace the treadand sides of the tire, walls rising from the marginal portions of theconvex surface of the plate and forming a chamber for the 5 reception ofa combustible fluid of a width to extend across the tread and sides ofthe tire, and parallel rows of longitudinal and transverse divisionplates within said cham her and subdividing the same to providelongitudinal and transverse rows of cells of restricted size from sideto side of said chamber.

2. A vulcanizer comprising a bottom wall or plate longitudinally andtransversely of concavo-convex form, end walls rising from the convexsurface of the plate, parallel side walls connected with the end wallsto provide a box chamber for the reception of a combustible fluid, saidside walls being spaced a distance greater than the width of the plateand having inwardly projecting horizontal extensions at their lower endsconnected with the lower portions of the side walls of the plate,longitudinal vand transverse partitions within the box or chambersubdividing the same to provide longitudinal and transverse rows ofcells or pockets, and securing means connected with the dependingportions of the sides of the plate.

3. A vulcanizer of the character described having a vulcanizing surfacecomprising a base plate of concavo-convex form longitudinally andtransversely, bottom walls extending laterally from the sides of saidplate, side walls rising from said bottom walls, end walls rising fromthe plate and side walls, said bottom, side and end walls forming areceptacle for a combustible fluid open at its side opposite the plateand bottom walls, a plurality of longitudinal partitions separating saidreceptacle into a plurality of central side cells, and transversepartitions sub-dividing said cells.

4. A vulcanizer of the character described comprising a base platelongitudinally and transversely of concavo-convex form, bottom wallsprojecting laterally from the sides of the base plate above the loweredges thereof, leaving short portions of the latter depending below saidwalls, side walls extending upwardly from said lateral walls beyond thesides of the base plate, end walls connecting said base plate, bottomand side walls forming therewith an oblong rectangular chamber, seriesof longitudinal and transverse compartments separating said chamber intorows of longitudinal and transverse cells, members depending from thesaid depending short portions of the side walls of the base plate andarranged so as to lie on opposite sides of a tire and wheel to which thedevice is applied, and connecting means extending transversely betweensaid members and provided with means for securing the vulcanizer to thewheel.

5. A vulcanizing device comprising a vulcanizing plate, having avulcanizing face adapted to lie in direct contact with a tire,

said plate being longitudinally curved to extend circumferentiallyaround a portion of the tire and being transversely curved to envelopthe tread and sides of the tire adjacent to the rim points, and achamber upon the opposite side 'of said plate of a said cells or pocketsbeing adapted to jointly or independently receive charges of acombustible fluid, whereby different portions or areas of the tread andsides of a tire may be separately or conjointly vulcanized.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR E. LAWRENCE. Witnesses:

B. G. NEIGHBOR, T. J. SAUNDERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patent, Washington, D. G.

